Mixed Strategy Research Articles

Post-pandemic pursuits: Activity preferences of rural tourists in Western Transdanubia

This study examines the changing preferences of rural tourists in Western Transdanubia, Hungary, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to uncover how rural tourism has changed and identify the new winners of the shifting demand. In 2021, we conducted a comprehensive survey with 925 participants and introduced a novel activity-based segmentation of rural tourists, revealing a strong preference for complex service packages. Practically, our findings highlight that village caterers who have strategically segmented the market have emerged as winners, successfully attracting different age groups and genders with customized packages. Cluster analysis revealed a segment of rural tourists who, without exception, were enthusiastic about diverse activities. In particular, our cross-cluster analysis points to a significant amount of potential demand among middle-aged tourists. These findings help practitioners develop a targeted product mix and marketing strategy to meet the changing demands of rural tourism.

Mixed-Zero-Sum-Game-Based Memory Event-Triggered Cooperative Control of Heterogeneous MASs Against DoS Attacks.

This article studies the problem of memory event-triggered cooperative adaptive control of heterogeneous nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) under denial-of-service (DoS) attacks based on the multiplayer mixed zero-sum (ZS) game strategy. First, a neural-network-based reinforcement learning scheme is structured to obtain the Nash equilibrium solution of the proposed multiplayer mixed ZS game scheme. Then, a memory-based event-triggered mechanism considering the historical data is proposed. This effectively avoids incorrect triggering information caused by unknown external factors. Moreover, thanks to the idea of switching topology, the mixed ZS game problem under the influence of node-based DoS attacks is solved efficiently. In accordance with the Lyapunov stability theory, it is proved that all signals of heterogeneous MASs are bounded, all heterogeneous followers can track the trajectory of the leader during the no-attack period, the attacked follower can achieve stabilization control during the attack period, and the remaining nonattacked followers can achieve cooperative control during the attack period. Finally, the effectiveness of the designed memory-event-triggered-based mixed ZS game cooperative control strategy is tested by the given simulation results.

Wake Mixing Control For Floating Wind Farms: Analysis of the Implementation of the Helix Wake Mixing Strategy on the IEA 15-MW Floating Wind Turbine

Wake Mixing Control For Floating Wind Farms: Analysis of the Implementation of the Helix Wake Mixing Strategy on the IEA 15-MW Floating Wind Turbine

On dividends and Gerber-Shiu analysis with constant interest and a periodic-threshold mixed strategy

On dividends and Gerber-Shiu analysis with constant interest and a periodic-threshold mixed strategy

Muyu Raymi, the Seeds Festival: Indigenous Women’s Means to Sustain, Resist, and Rebuild

ABSTRACT Among the Raymis, the Indigenous celebrations of the Andes, the seeds festival Muyu Raymi has a unique path. It is a colorful one-day event that most explicitly exemplifies interculturalidad and the achievements of Indigenous Peasant politics at a local level in Ecuador. Nevertheless, Indigenous women’s active and committed involvement in the event is not sufficiently understood from the intersection of culture and politics. This work aims to identify the ways in which Indigenous women have managed to link themselves to Muyu Raymi and what Muyu Raymi shows about our understanding of interculturalidad. This work argues Muyu Raymi has its origins in the dawn of neoliberalism and remains connected to a long process of resistance led by Indigenous women. The findings are discussed through a lens of interculturalidad that highlights people’s ability to sustain, resist, and rebuild their ways of living. The analysis considers the existence of a relationship between human and non-human actants as explainer of social life; in this case, Indigenous women and the seeds. This work highlights the transformative potential of the women-seeds connections and their mixed strategies to resist and support systems of power, through a history that correctly attributes credit to women as history makers.

Strategi Islamic Marketing Mix Wisata Kampung Mandor Plaosan Cluwak Pati

This research aims to explain the Islamic marketing mix strategy of Kampung Foreman Tourism Plaosan Cluwak Pati Village. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method with data collection techniques through interviews, observations and documentation. The results of this study show that the marketing strategy used by the management of Kampung Mandor Tourism is known as the term Islamic marketing mix which consists of 9P, namely; Product, Price, Promotion, Place, People, Process, Physical evidence, Promise and Patience. The marketing strategies carried out by the management include being carried out online, utilizing social media Instagram and WhatsApp. The obstacles faced by the manager in marketing the foreman village tourism are in terms of the products offered such as food menus and parking spaces that have not been maximized. Therefore, the management is trying to develop tourism so that there is a new atmosphere and visitors feel interested, satisfied, safe and comfortable.

Marketing Mix Strategy to Increase the Number of Wedding Events in Geo Open Space

Marketing Mix Strategy to Increase the Number of Wedding Events in Geo Open Space

An environmentally sustainable ultrasonic-assisted exfoliation approach to graphene and its nanocompositing with polyaniline for supercapacitor applications

In the present work, a green high-yielding method for the preparation of graphene is introduced via ultrasonic-assisted liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite in a green solvent medium, since the common preparation method of graphene via graphite oxide is hazardous. A high concentration of 3.2 mg/ml graphene is achieved here in a comparatively short duration of 3 h ultrasonication. By using a mixed solvents strategy (acetophenone and isopropyl alcohol, 1:19 V/V), surface energy requirements needed for the exfoliation of graphite are satisfied here with acetophenone, where isopropyl alcohol further facilitated the exfoliation via non-conventional CH-π and OH-π interactions. Turbostratic graphene in high-yield (16 %) in a simple means of ultrasonic assisted LPE is the added attraction of the present procedure. The less-defective structure of graphene, its few-layered turbostratic nature, and edge functionalization of the sheets are evident from the material characterization via Raman spectroscopy, XRD, TEM-SAED, and XPS analyses. Here, we report a combination of the attractive conducting polymer polyaniline (PANI) with the as-prepared graphene for supercapacitor applications, where the PANI/graphene nanocomposites with different aniline concentrations (PANI1.125/G, PANI4.5/G, and PANI9/G) have been prepared via in-situ polymerization of aniline in the graphene dispersion. The structure and morphology of the nanocomposites are investigated using different characterization techniques which revealed that the molecular structure of the PANI is retained in the nanocomposites even with a strong interaction with graphene. FESEM and TEM images revealed the good coverage of graphene sheets with PANI that limit the volume change of PANI during the repeated charge-discharge processes. Electrochemical studies showed that PANI4.5/G has the highest specific capacitance of 126.16 mF/cm2 at a current density of 1 mA/cm2, resulting from the perfect combination of the pseudocapacitance behavior of the PANI along with the electrical double layer capacitance of graphene. A symmetric supercapacitor device is also fabricated with PANI4.5/G, which showed the highest areal capacitance of 116.38 mF/cm2 similar to that with three-electrode studies and also good cycling stability with 87 % capacitance retention in the specific capacitance after 6000 cycles. It also exhibited an energy density of 16 µWh/cm2 (0.29 Wh/kg) and a power density of 3.99 mW/cm2 (72.72 W/kg).

Integrating use of sugarcane bagasse with sugarcane juice for efficient l-lactic acid production through fed-batch simultaneous saccharification and fermentation: Process configurations and kinetic analysis

The present study investigated the utilization of sugarcane juice (SJ) and sugarcane bagasse (SB) for L-lactic acid (L-LA) production by a newly isolated Enterococcus gallinarum TSKKU D-6. SJ was first investigated as a single substrate, yielding 43.9 ± 2.9 g-LA/L, with a fermentation efficiency of 72.0 ± 0.1 %, based on sucrose content in SJ. On the other hand, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of SB as a single substrate yielded 68.2 ± 2.7 g-LA/L, with a fermentation efficiency of 74.1 ± 0.0 %, based on cellulose content in SB. SSF of SJ and SB as co-substrates was subsequently carried out to increase the acid production, where SJ was first fermented, followed by the addition of SB to enhance LA titer. Effects of mixing and SB addition strategy on the kinetics and economic feasibility of L-LA production were investigated using a bioreactor equipped with a single and dual impellers, as well as the use of dual impellers under fed-batch SSF. The use of single and dual impellers gave similar L-LA titers of 95.9 ± 1.4 and 102.6 ± 0.6 g/L, respectively. Nevertheless, the use of dual impellers shortened the processing time, enhancing LA productivity from 0.37 to 1.12 g/(L·h). As a result, the economic yield and productivity were improved by 7.1 % and 187.5 %, respectively. Better still, performing fed-batch SSF with the use of dual impellers further improved the economic productivity by 8.7 %. This study demonstrated that integrating use of SB as a low-cost substrate considerably enhanced the acid production and lessened the use of SJ. It was also demonstrated that mixing, and process configuration are critical factors determining the process performance.

Adapting to Changing Landscape: Strategic Planning and Change Management in Islamic Higher Education

This study aims to analyze the concept and process of strategic planning that can contribute to the success and effectiveness of strategic planning in Islamic universities by following the steps of strategic change developed by John Moore Bryson. The background of this study is based on the fact that the university environment, especially Islamic universities, generally still needs significant breakthroughs in strategic planning. The mixed method is used to consider the aspect of academic usefulness. First, the mixed method strategy gradually expands the findings. Second, the mixed method strategy combines quantitative and qualitative data into one piece of information to obtain a comprehensive analysis. The research findings show that the strategy model is an effort to integrate the main objectives and policies of the organization into a series of actions that can be relied on in achieving the organization at a certain point. The results of this study are expected to provide an essential contribution by identifying the gap between the John Moore-Bryson model and the strategic change model in the organizational environment of Islamic universities.

Effect of ethanol content, water injection, and compression ratio on combustion and detailed emissions in an SI-GDI engine

The transportation sector accounts for 29 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in the US. Steadily tightening criteria emissions and fuel efficiency requirements have led to current research efforts evaluating multiple mixed strategies or extending beyond traditional engine architectures and fuels. Ethanol is used extensively as both a fuel additive and primary fuel replacement for gasoline. Modern engines utilizing boosting or high compression ratios require fuels such as ethanol that are more resistant to pre-ignition to operate efficiently at high load conditions. Water dilution has historically been used for knock reduction and some potential has been found for emissions and efficiency improvements. The studies on these topics, however, often focus on wide-open-throttle (WOT) conditions and neglect part load where engines normally operate. This investigation evaluates the combined effects of fuel ethanol content, compression ratio, and water dilution on the combustion and emissions characteristics A 2.4L 4-cylinder naturally aspirated (NA) gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine at part load conditions.The results indicated that the varied combinations of compression ratio and fuel ethanol content did not change the typical performance or emissions results expected for either parameter alone. Water dilution only significantly degraded stability at conditions with coefficient of variation (CoV) of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) values near or above 3 %. Water dilution at 10 % and 20 % W/F rations reduced average oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions by 20 % and 40 % respectively. The water dilution effect on unburned hydrocarbons (UHCs) was more mixed with flame ionization detector (FID) results showing mixed positive and negative effects for lower ethanol content fuels and up to a 20 % increase in UHC emissions with the high ethanol fuel (E85). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results agreed with the fuel blend UHC sensitivity reported with the FID. Ethanol emissions were found to increase by two to three times more for each level of water dilution than unburned gasoline emissions.

Analysis of Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning and Marketing Mix Strategies on The MSME Training and Coaching

This study aims to analyse the implementation and effectiveness of Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning (STP) and Marketing Mix NICE (Networking, Interaction, Common Interest and Experience) strategies at PT Indotraining Multi Solusi's MSME training and coaching institution. Using qualitative methods that include observation, document analysis and interviews with managers and participants, this study evaluates the effect of these strategies on increasing the marketing capacity of PT Indotraining Multi Solusi. The results show that effective integration of STP and Marketing Mix can significantly improve market understanding and competitive position with similar competitors.

The analytical hierarchical process (AHP) approach to study the tourist choice behavior in rural southern India: Promoting responsible tourism practices

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the prioritization of the services marketing mix and compare the outcomes between first-time and repeat visitors in selecting a rural destination. Six rural tourism destinations were selected from four different southern states of India. Approximately 512 respondents consisting of 292 first-time visitors and 220 multiple-time visitors participated in a questionnaire survey carried out from May 2023 to October 2023. Multicriteria method, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to examine the prioritisation of services marketing mix components and ranking is done concerning the reason behind choosing a particular rural destination. The present study reveals that many new visitors favor rural tourist locations due to their affordability and variety of experiences. In addition, repeat visitors also choose rural areas based on the native resident’s attitude, customer service, cultural orientation, training, language proficiency, information and communication processes and facilities and services. Efficient marketing is important for promoting tourism in rural destinations and increase the arrival of tourists . The article also proposes the adoption of responsible tourism practices, which are essential for protecting cultural assets and ensuring that local populations get fair and equal benefits from tourism. The research also provides significant insights to destination management firms on the formulation of services marketing mix strategies, policy choices, and initiatives aimed at expanding rural tourism in India.

Situational control and strategic choices during supply chain disruptions: case studies of SME exporters

PurposeMotivated by the severe impact of global supply chain disruptions and the lack of understanding of supply chain resilience from an SME exporter perspective in the international marketing literature, this paper sets out to explore how SME exporters achieve resilience through strategic choices related to sourcing and manufacturing during global disruptions.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative, multiple-case-studies approach to identify the key strategic drivers and contextual factors influencing SME exporters’ supply chain resilience. Our study adopted an SME exporter perspective and featured an unprecedented global supply chain disruption context. New Zealand (NZ) was chosen as the key home country context for the participants of this study. Five NZ SME exporters were selected for our case studies.FindingsThis study redefines buffering, bridging and a mixed strategy for an SME exporter facing global supply chain disruptions. SME exporters with high situational control are likely to pursue a buffering strategy that reduces their resource dependence on foreign suppliers and their reliance on information support from these suppliers. In contrast, when the firm perceives little control over the supply chain, it will decide upon a bridging strategy that aims to build solid relationships with supply chain partners. Exporters opt for a mixed strategy when they do not see themselves clearly in high or low situational control.Research limitations/implicationsAs global disruptions arise and evolve, supply chain uncertainty and exporters’ sense of situational control manifest differently across industries, product lines, markets and sourcing countries. It is essential to understand that firms can choose a mixed strategy based on these supply chain conditions. While our study was fortuitously timed, conducting multi-country studies could provide more comparative insights that transcend national borders. Additionally, our study did not examine organizational and capability-based factors. Future research may benefit from exploring how an SME exporter develops strategic capabilities to achieve resilience over its lifetime.Practical implicationsBusinesses see survival as the most pivotal concern during a global supply chain disruption. Many companies have had to make on-the-spot decisions about whether they should shift or redesign their supply chains in the middle of a global disruption. There is no “best strategy” for an SME exporter to take. Rather, managers should make strategic decisions based on how much control or influence they have over a particular part of their supply chain. The level of control is determined by the SME exporter’s overall resource dependencies and information needs in particular parts of their supply chain.Originality/valueWe adopt resource dependence theory and information processing theory to guide our study and place exporters' situational control in the centre of drivers to firms' strategic choices during global disruptions. We make a novel attempt to incorporate the contextual conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic into the theorization of supply chain resilience. We make managerial recommendations to help SME exporters navigate global supply chain disruption challenges.

The Relationship between Electronic Marketing and Consumer Behavior "An Applied Study on a Sample of Customers of Al-Rafidain Bank – Iraq"

The current research aims to understanding the relationship between e-marketing and consumer behavior through study applied to a sample of Rafidain Bank customers, and the current research focuses on surveying the opinions of a sample of customers dealing with Rafidain Bank in three Iraqi governorates (Babil, Karbala, and Najaf), numbering (325) Customers. the researcher examined, through a set of hypotheses, the effects of the independent variable, which is electronic marketing, on consumer behavior, and consequently the effects of the latter on the bank’s profitability. A questionnaire was designed to survey the opinions of the individuals in the aforementioned research sample, according to a scale to be respected the quintet, and these phrases included five axes distributed between the study variables, demographic information of the study sample, elements of electronic marketing, elements supporting electronic marketing, indicators of the efficiency of banking services, and finally consumer behavior. The descriptive analysis resulted in tables that displayed the initial statistical results and analytical results that address the research hypotheses, whether negative or positive. the study reached the following conclusions the most important of which is that The dimensions of consumer behavior are arranged as follows: education, attitudes, perception, motives, and finally, the study proved the existence of a strong relationship between the independent variable and the mediator on the bank's profitability clearly, so the recommendations were confirmed that this relationship should be under the attention of the relevant parties in the upper and middle management and that they should take it into account when working on developing the marketing mix strategies for banking services at Rafidain bank to enhance its pioneering role in banking work at the level of Iraq and the world.

Comprehensive Assessment and Optimization of a Middle-Arch Dual-Channel Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Using Numerical Simulation Methods.

The present study focuses on a middle-arch dual-channel municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerator facing issues of high NO x emission and overheating. To address these problems and optimize the incinerator, an advanced numerical simulation method was employed to comprehensively assess its bed combustion, freeboard combustion, and NO x emission characteristics. A multiphase fuel bed model considering large-particle characteristics of MSW was developed, coupled with a three-dimensional (3D) model for combustion in freeboard. The analysis revealed that the observed issues stem from multiple factors, including primary-to-secondary air ratio, flame propagation in bed, release of volatiles from bed, and distribution and mixing of components in freeboard. Reducing the proportion of primary air and correspondingly increasing secondary air effectively alleviated the localized overheating in the furnace and reduced NO x emission. Further adjustments to the distribution of primary air in three stages delaying air supply toward the burnout stage, together with the decrease in the grate movement speed, can better control the amount and speciation of N released from the bed. Implementing a counterflow mixing strategy with NH3 in the front channel and NO in the rear channel can greatly reduce the original NO x emission concentration to 95.94 mg/(N·m3), as predicted by a numerical simulation. Subsequent practical adjustments to an actual incinerator led to notable improvements, clearly optimizing the localized high-temperature issues at various locations, especially the front channel suffering severe slagging problems, with the temperature reduced from 1118 to 957 °C. Meanwhile, NO x emission concentration decreased from 200 mg/(N·m3) to around 50 mg/(N·m3), with no negative effect on the boiler load.

Feasibility study on non-destructive detection of microplastic content in flour based on portable Raman spectroscopy system combined with mixed variable selection method

Microplastics, as emerging environmental pollutants, have garnered considerable attention due to their contamination of both the environment and food. Microplastics can infiltrate the human food chain through multiple pathways, potentially posing health risks to humans. Currently, non-destructive testing of microplastics in food is considered challenging. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of employing a portable Raman spectroscopy system for non-destructive detection of microplastic content (polystyrene, PS; polyethylene, PE) in flour. In this study, a portable spectrometer was used to collect flour spectra of different abundances of microplastics. To enhance the predictive performance of the partial least squares (PLS) model, a mixed variable selection strategy that combined the wavelength interval selection method (Synergy interval partial least squares, siPLS) and the wavelength point selection method (Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, LASSO; Multiple feature-spaces ensemble by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, MFE-LASSO) was proposed. Four regression models (PLS, siPLS, siPLS-LASSO, siPLS-MFE-LASSO) were developed and compared for detecting PS and PE content in flour. The siPLS-MFE-LASSO model exhibited the best generalization performance in the prediction set, and was considered to have the best generalization performance (PS: RP2 = 0.9889, RMSEP=0.0344 %; PE: RP2 = 0.9878, RMSEP=0.0361 %). In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the potential of using a portable Raman spectrometer in conjunction with a mixed variable selection algorithm for non-destructive detection of PS and PE content in flour, providing more possibilities for non-destructive detection of microplastic content in food.

The evolution of fear-acquisition strategies under predation

Fear is a taxonomically widespread behavioral response that functions to keep individuals out of danger. Empirical research has demonstrated that a diverse set of strategies are used in order to acquire a fear response across animals. Animals often use a mixed strategy: fear is acquired both innately and through learning. Despite the ubiquity of the fear response, and its established importance for shaping predator–prey interactions, little is known about why different fear acquisition strategies evolve or why mixed strategies appear common. Here, we model the evolution of fear acquisition (learning versus innate) under predation. We assume a tradeoff where individuals that learn fear are at higher risk from predators initially, but eventually obtain a lower risk as they survive predation attempts. We find that frequent predator encounters, predators that are not very dangerous, and effective learning favor the evolution of learned fear. Only pure strategies of fear acquisition evolve unless individuals suffer from either a cost to fear or, especially, a cost to learning, either of which can lead to the evolution of mixed strategies. Our results thus shed light onto the evolution of mixed fear acquisition strategies and open the door to further research on the evolution of fear acquisition.

Designing audio processing strategies to enhance cochlear implant users' music enjoyment

Cochlear implants (CIs) provide hundreds of thousands of users with increased access to sound, particularly speech, but experiences of music are more varied. Can greater engagement by CI users in the music mixing process mutually benefit them as well as audio engineers? This paper presents an exploratory mixed-methods study that leverages insights from CI users and professional audio engineers (AEs) in the investigation of techniques to enhance CI user music enjoyment and promote empathetic practices in AEs. Analysis of data collected over a multi-step process of surveys, interviews, and iterative cycles of sound mixing and feedback revealed two mixing strategies—namely essentializing and exaggeration of musical elements—common among mixes preferred by CI users. Participant responses also highlighted systemic ableism and audism in the music industry—an industry from which CI users report feeling excluded. Specifically, AEs felt inadequately trained around aural diversity considerations and experienced anxiety around their own aural diversity. In sum, this work contributes to insights into CI user music listening preferences; how AEs approach mixing for an aurally diverse audience; and discussion around the efficacy of CI simulation, user feedback, and AE peer feedback on mix enjoyment by CI users. Based on these findings, we offer several design insights that emphasize the need for customizable music listening tools centered around user agency and enjoyment.

Pollination ecology of Dracula erythrochaete (Orchidaceae): brood-site imitation or food deception?

Abstract Pleurothallidinae is the most diverse Neotropical subtribe in Orchidaceae and is almost exclusively pollinated by insects of the order Diptera. Dracula, a genus of 138 species in the Pleurothallidinae, is known to attract Zygothrica (Drosophilidae) flies, common macrofungi visitors, by imitating fungal volatile compounds and lamellae. Interestingly, Dracula orchids do not appear to offer any rewards to their floral visitors. While brood-site imitation of macrofungi has been suggested as their pollination system, the exact behaviour of flies during their extended visits to the orchid flowers has yet to be confirmed. In this study, we document the pollination mechanism of Dracula erythrochaete. We characterize the floral structures involved in the mechanism using anatomical and morphological evidence. Additionally, through in situ observations and camera recordings, we describe the insect behaviour. We show that flowers of D. erythrochaete share the same group of visitors as nearby macrofungi, including different Zygothrica species, seven of which were determined as effective pollinators. Male and female flies were attracted to the flowers and displayed feeding behaviour. Accordingly, proteins were detected in high concentrations on the papillae at the base of the movable lip and in papillary trichomes of the sepals, near the column. The concept of brood-site imitation is debated, as no oviposition events were observed and no eggs were found on the flowers. Therefore, a mixed strategy of congregation/brood-site imitation and food reward is proposed for pollination.